Richmond: Big-rig crash cleared from Interstate 80

By Rick Hurd and Natalie Neysa Alund

Contra Costa Times

Posted:
02/06/2014 06:49:08 AM PST

Updated:
02/06/2014 03:51:08 PM PST

RICHMOND -- All lanes were open by midmorning Thursday along rain-soaked Interstate 80 after a big rig with two trailers jackknifed early in the day, creating a huge mess for morning commuters, according to the California Highway Patrol.

The wreck occurred around 5:30 a.m. just west of El Portal Drive, as roads were still wet and slick after a winter storm that moved into the Bay Area on Wednesday night. Two cars also were involved in the wreck, CHP Officer Ron Simmons said, and an ambulance and paramedics were called to the scene. At least one person was transported to a hospital to be treated for minor injuries.

Simmons said the truck skidded into a concrete center divider on the freeway, breaking it and leaving pieces of concrete strewed on both sides of the freeway.

The big rig came to rest blocking three lanes in both the eastbound and westbound directions of the freeway and leaving only one lane in each direction open for traffic, Simmons said.

Officers shut down all lanes of traffic in both directions along I-80, with traffic backing up several miles. All lanes of traffic were reopened about 9:15 a.m.

Another wreck involving three cars happened near the Gilman Street exit on westbound I-80 just after the big-rig crash, but the CHP cleared that incident within an hour.

Simmons said the number of wrecks on the area freeways Thursday morning "was on the high side" and that the big-rig crash was the most serious. Drivers were urged to drive slower than normal, and Simmons said roads were expected to be extremely slippery because of the lack of rain leading up to this storm.

Easbound traffic crawls past the scene of a three-vehicle accident on Interstate Highway 80 in Richmond, Calif., Thursday, Feb. 6, 2014, while Caltrans workers clean up debris and damage done to the median. There were no serious injuries in the crash, which snarled rush hour traffic in both directions of the freeway for at least three hours. (D. Ross Cameron/Bay Area News Group)
(
D. ROSS CAMERON
)